On Monday, March 8, 2004, at 06:14 PM, say.map@ihug.co.nz wrote:

...

spose next your tell me they actually made a sonic bomb and that hawkwind inspired them to do this.

well actually it was a sonic weapon rather than a bomb, and AFAIK it was only Cauty who made it, not Drummond. According to news reports, when Cauty tested the sonic weapon it spooked a field of cows and a couple of them miscarried and Cauty had to pay compensation to the farmer for the loss of the calves.

The Pentagon's Secret Scream By William M. Arkin The Los Angeles Times Monday 08 March 2004 Sonic devices that can inflict pain--or even permanent deafness--are being deployed. SOUTH POMFRET, Vt. — Marines arriving in Iraq this month as part of a massive troop rotation will bring with them a high-tech weapon never before used in combat — or in peacekeeping. The device is a powerful megaphone the size of a satellite dish that can deliver recorded warnings in Arabic and, on command, emit a piercing tone so excruciating to humans, its boosters say, that it causes crowds to disperse, clears buildings and repels intruders. "[For] most people, even if they plug their ears, [the device] will produce the equivalent of an instant migraine," says Woody Norris, chairman of American Technology Corp., the San Diego firm that produces the weapon. "It will knock [some people] on their knees." American Technology says its new product "is designed to determine intent, change behavior and support various rules of engagement." The company is careful in its public relations not to refer to the megaphone as a weapon, or to dwell on the debilitating pain American forces will be able to deliver with it. The military has been equally reticent on the subject. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op- arkin7mar07,1,3605986.story http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/030904E.shtml (non-registration mirror)